The FARCE and the ARSE

I was talking with Bruce Nichols at HarperCollins about The Peter Principle, and suggested that we need a self-test based on the book to determine if someone has reached their level of incompetence, and which methods they are using to mask and cope with what Professor Peter called "final placement syndrome." We have been toying with the idea of doing a self-test similar to the ARSE.  Regular readers of this blog will recall that the ARSE test (Asshole Rating Self Exam) is for assessing if you are a certified asshole or not.  The ARSE continues to be filled out at a pretty high rate; Emily at Electric Pulp reports it is closing in in 190,000 completions (currently at 188,580).

Bruce suggested we could pair the ARSE with the FARCE.  He proposes five questions linked to the acronym and derived from the logic and language of The Peter Principle:  

Friend: Do you have a crucial friend and mentor in the company, without whom you wouldn't be where you are?

Assistant: is yours so priceless and efficient that you couldn't survive without him?

Reach: Have you reached as high as you are likely to go in the company?

Current practices: can you readily explain and defend them?

Explain away: can you readily explain why proposals for change are bad?

Guy Kawasaki took a quick look at the FARCE and his reaction is that we need a longer and more interactive version, along the lines of ARSE. I think he is right and I am tempted to do one, although I should probably resist the temptation because I am too busy and distracted already.  But it sure would be fun to pair the ARSE and FARCE, and then people could take tests to determine if they are an asshole, incompetent, both, or neither. 

P.S. There are some pretty interesting comments in response to my Peter Principle Lives essay at BusinessWeek, and a bit of a polite debate about whether of Sully of "Miracle on the Hudson" fame was one of the few pilots who could have pulled-off that landing or not. 

Comments

[Ergoboy]

Dr. Sutton,

Thank you for referring to your comments on Business Week, and thank you for your comments about Capt. Sullenberger and the professionalism of pilots. Each time I hear him called a "hero", I cringe. Yes, what he did was professional and great. However, compare the difficulty of landing a plane on an open stretch of water with landing a crippled bomber or helicopter on the hard, and often hostile ground, while still saving the crew. While we can call both competent and professional, I wish people would save the hero worship for those who perform competently with all the odds stacked against them.

[JWMcCoy]

Here are some suggestions:

Do you resent all of the rising stars or just the one or two who deserve it?

Do you find yourself remaining silent in a meeting because the discussion has moved beyond you?

Do you find that when you comment in a meeting the people around you indicate (verbally or non-verbally) that you have stated the obvious?